A Haunting Valentine
by ghost-of-musics-past
Summary: Back and updating! Sorry for lack of updates. A blurred past shared by two, a dark future for one and death for all who stand in their way.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N : hi ! this is my first ever fanfic , so , i hope its good :D please read and review , and im sorry if it seems a little repetitive at the start , im just building it up :3 well , here it is :D :] hope you all like it ! (sorry if everything 100% perfect :L )**

**Disclaimer: i dont own mw2 :L I wish I did though :P x**

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><p>Chapter 1 : fallen and wounded.<p>

Her feet crashed through the dim forest , and her ragged panting was painfully loud as she urged herself on , running away from them.

Branches of trees whipped across her , and she felt the hot cuts seep blood , but she ignored it and ran on. In the distance , the shouts of the hunters rang out along with the bark of dogs and rythmatic beating lull of a chopper searching for her in the black sky.

A sharp pulsating throb was present in her left arm and right shoulder , where he had shot her when he couldn't break her.

Her knees were getting weak , and her head was light. She needed to hide and fast. They were catching up on her.

Heading for a small stream , she jumped into it , buckling a little , and ran upstream , hoping it would throw the dogs off her scent a little. She tripped over a large rock and collapsed into the water.

With eyes threatening to spill their tears she gritted her teeth and picked herself up.

She wouldn't let herself cry. He wouldn't forgive it. Ever. She must remain strong. Its what he would have wanted.

She ran for a further half hour stopping only when she truly couldn't go on.

Spotting a figure clad all in black in a tree to her left she tried to run , but it dropped to the ground and grabbed her arm. She tried to pull away , but the figure had a strong grip and wouldn't let go. It tugged her up and force her to walk on.

She tried to push the figure off her and walk herself , but it held her up regardless. After another long silent walk , the figure finally stopped in an open field and pushed her towards the tree line .

she stomped over to a large tree and leaned against its trunk, tore off her mask and gasped. The figure walked over and pulled out a medi-kit . wincing , she ripped the sleeve of her black sleeve and grunted as the bullet moved in her flesh.

'Get away from me' , she hissed as the figure moved closer and produced a large pair of tweezers.

'No..' it said and delved into her arm after the bullet.

She hissed again and lashed out at the figure , who took no notice of her attempt to kick its head.

'who the hell are you ?'

But the figure avoided her question and reached for her dogtags .

'someone you can trust.' It said while delivering a morphine shot and started about stitching the wound closed.

'i don't trust'

The figure repeated the process on her right shoulder making her inhale sharply.

'well , i think you can trust me.' It said and continued to work in silence.

When the wounds were stitched and bandaged , the figure sat beside her and handed her a SCAR-H with red dot sight.

'thanks ?' she asked , but the figure took off its mask and helmet.

'you scared us there ya'know.' He said. He was about twenty-seven , with ruffled looking brown hair and deep green eyes. 'tavish'll be here to get us in a bit. We had to go looking for you. And your team.'

She took a deep breath, 'im sorry , but who's tavish ,and why were you looking for me?'

He laughed quietly a little . 'shepherd wanted you alive. Tavish.. well... he's my captain. Quite ... eh ... well...you'll see when you meet him' he finished slowly.

'shepherd? What the hell does shepherd want me for ?'

'he sees ... good qualities in you. Apparently , tavish seems to think so too...'

A familiar noise , that of a small helicopter was drifting through the air. Suddenly , the young mans radio crackled to life , 'roach , any sign of her yet?' a smooth british accent cut though.

'yeah , i got at the landing zone. Where are you ?' roach asked through the comms.

'coming up now on your right.'

'copy...'

She looked back to roach , as the other man had called him . she noticed the insignia on his patch on the black fleece he wore and her brow furrowed a little. '141 ?'

'yeah... task force 141. Best darned soldiers on the planet—'

'and you .' the british voice laughed , the punched roaches shoulder. 'were you getting cosy with the girl ?' he teased as he sat down beside them and scratched his masked chin.

Her eyes widened as she took in the red glasses , skull mask combo he wore , and noticing , he bridled a little.

'shut up ghost.' Roach mumbled and rolled his eyes.

'you look like hammered shit , d'you know that ?' ghost said , to her as he studied her brusied face and bloodied lip.

'what happened ? wheres your team ?' a rough-hewn Scottish accent startled her and she backed away on her knees.

Roach stood up and opened his mouth , but looked at her, 'yeah , what happened?'

But Tavish cut him off. 'the chopper is nearly here. Theyre coming closer.' He kicked the ground in frustration and she stared at him through cold eyes.

The sound of the heli was coming closer now , and she sighed. 'im guessing your the people Corporal Wade told me were coming to help our team.'

'aye , we were supposed to bring you all back.' Tavish sighed and grunted , 'theres the heli. Gone, you better get some sleep on the ride hime. Shepherd wants to speak to you.'

Taking in his mood she made the choice to stay silent and looked up at his worn face.

When the heli landed close enough to the ground , Tavish walked over and waitied for the door to open. He walked in , roach and ghost following.

She stood , and instantly a wave of dizziness washed over her. "how long have i been without food or water?" she asked herself her steps uneven and her head pounding.

'yeoo. You coming or what?' roach called as the helicopters rotary blades sped up. She walked faster and when she sat down on the seat , closed her eyes, fighting the urge to vomit.

Images from the past week flashed through her eyes and she snapped them open , clenching her fists and biting hard on her lip.

As the heli ascended into the dark night sky , she remained awake , watching the men around her and looking out the window. She cleared her throat , 'where exactly is home ?' she asked Tavish.

'about two hours away. Here' , he said handing her a canteen of water 'you look as if you need it.'

'thanks...' she drank deeply , but knew she shouldn't drink the whole canteen full , or she'd be sick.

'just rest up a little. Youve been through quite an ordeal.' Tavish said and shifted in his seat so he was comfortable.

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><p>The ride 'home' was uneventful , and most of it in silence . when they landed in a frozen grassy field , and the three men stood up , she noticed a few uniformed soldiers had stopped and were waiting for the people in the copper to come out.<p>

Yanking on her black mask , she stood beside Roach and waited for the pilot to open the door.

'our base.' Roach said proudly , hopping out and almost immediately walking over to three other very tall well built men. Ghost stayed with tavish , who ignored the men around them watching this stranger enter their base. 'Captain MacTavish sir , Shepherd is in the briefing room. He wants to speak with you and a Sergeant Valentine?' a man dressed in a PT uniform announced. He was slightly out of breath as if he had been running hard in the last five minutes.

'Tell him I'll be there in a minute.'Tavish said turning to her. He led her into a large grey building and down a long dimly lit corridor towards the briefing room.

'Ghost , tell Roach to get a medic for Valentine.' He said as he walked into the room with her.

Ghost wandered outside to find Roach. "_Valentine ?"_ he thought to himself , the name oddly familiar...

**A/N : so , whaddaya think ? please review , constructive critism welcomed! I hopeI didn't bore you with all the repetetiveness , but I have a quirky twist , so please watch out for updates :3 im off school at the minute so , i'll be updating as often as i can :D xxxxxxxxxx please reviewww!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Heyyy , thank you so so so so so so much for the reviews ! I honestly wasn't even expecting anyone to read this ! (ohhh... I was looking over it , and I noticed I forgot to put in 'isnt' when I said sorry if everything 'isnt' 100% perfect :') just in case you were thinking :l she's full of herself...) I took all your advice and really tried with my capitalizations and grammar ... Not to mention spelling :') I hope you like this chapter, its twice as long as the first: L and something happens at the end :] Please read and review or pm me if you think there are ways I can make it better **

**Xxxxxxxx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own MW2 or any of its characters ... except for Sgt Valentine :L**

Ghost absentmindedly wandered back down the corridor , surprised that MacTavish didn't invite him in. He walked out into the frosty sunshine and looked around, took a deep breath, the cold air making his mask slightly damp. He tugged at the mouth area, and shifted the damp fabric from his lips and chin. Spotting Roach, he made a beeline towards him.

'Roach, MacTavish told you to get a medic for V-Valentine.'

Roach looked at Ghost for a minute, before he set off in search of Chemo. Ghost followed him silently, which unnerved Roach, who turned around and asked rather awkwardly,'aren't you supposed to be in the briefing room like... ya'know... getting debriefed?'

Ghost cocked his head to one shoulder and sighed, 'aren't you supposed to be getting debriefed? And, anyway... I don't think Tavish wanted me there..'

'Why'd you stutter?' Roach plainly enquired turning in to one of the many entrances to the labyrinth that was their base.

'Why-what?' Ghost spluttered annoyed at Roach's tendency to pick out the little things and ask the most awkward questions.

'You stuttered when you said her name. Why?' Roach shrugged turning down yet another corridor leaving Ghost slightly confused at the end of the hall.

'Everyone stutters Roach.' Ghost said exasperatedly as he jogged slightly to catch up.

'Yeah, well I've never heard you stutter or stumble over anything your saying. You have to be one of the most articulate on the base.'

'Yeah, well you have to be one of the most prying and annoying people on the base.' Ghost snapped.

'And that right there is why I know that your mind is on something. You see that? –'he said pointing up at Ghosts head, 'That, my friend is on something other than guns and shit like it normally is.'

Ghost ignored him and pushed open the doors of the infirmary, where, as usual, Chemo was sitting talking to the doctor.

'Chemo, Tavish wants to you to take a look at someone in the briefing room. You better hurry, shepherd is there.' Roach shouted as he lazily walked over to a cot and flopped down on it.

'Well, why can't he get Doc to look at him!' he whined setting down his cards on the desk and rolling his eyes dramatically.

'Her.' Ghost corrected automatically.

'Her? Yeah... see ya Doc.' Chemo said , trying to mask his interest as he got up and walked , a little too quickly down the corridor.

Doc laughed and looked at Chemo's abandoned hand, 'He would have won the bet too' he laughed again and pocketed the money sitting on the desk.

Ghost walked out, heading for the showers.

'With all due respect Sir, we done our best. It was hard enough finding the bloody place !' MacTavish retorted to the annoyed General.

'Well ,maybe your best wasn't good enough!' Shepherd asserted , his volume rising.

'At least we have Sergeant Valentine here .' Shepherd said after a minute, ' looks like you'll have to be stayin ' here from now on. I had hoped that we wouldn't have needed you, but.. I hate to say it.. your as good as the rest of your old team.' He finished looking Valentine in the eye.

The awkward silence in the room was broken by a sharp knock on the door. MacTavish stood and opened it. 'Clean Sergeant Valentine up for us will you. She has two hours before I want to see her run the pit.' Shepherd announced in his gruff voice implying that she wasn't even present in the room. Valentine stood and headed for the door slowly , looking back at MacTavish who frowned slightly and turned back to face shepherd.

'Nice to know I'm wanted.' She muttered , making Chemo laugh a little.

He stuck out a large hand , 'Name's Chemo. C'mon back to the infirmary. Me and Doc'll clean ya up.'

She followed, a moody grimace left on her face from her encounter with the misogynistic General. The morphine was starting to wear off and the burning pain was growing in her arm and shoulder, as well as the cuts that littered her body.

When they reached the infirmary, roach was playing poker with who she presumed was Doc and by the sound of it, he was losing. And badly.

'There she is ...' Doc said setting down his cards and walking over. She yanked off her mask and winced. Chemo bent over and looked at her shoulder. He hissed through his teeth.

'Who stitched this up? Made a dogs dinner of it.'

Doc rummaged around in a large cabinet and pulled out fresh bandages, string , haemostats and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Chemo helped Valentine out of her black Fleece and saw her other wound. Roaches face reddened slightly , but she smiled at him and he nervously smiled back.

'I'm gonna take these stitches off and see if theres any bullet left in the wounds okay?' Chemo said as Doc delivered a shot of morphine beside the bullet wound on her arm. Roach stayed and watched as Chemo picked off the stitches he had done.

Valentine closed her eyes and bit down on her tongue when he reopened the wound and began searching for bullet fragments.

'Doc get me a tray..' he mumbled as he pulled a part of the bullet from her arm. He repeated this three times , and then , started gently cutting off the dead flesh around the hole. She winced and shifted , but he gritted his teeth and got on with it.

Doc came over with a wad of cotton and dropped some hydrogen peroxide onto it, clearing the blood away from her wound, and then dabbing at it.

Roach just watched as her eyes flashed with pain every time they touched it, but her mouth remained closed, wiling herself not to make a noise.

Doc cut her short sleeve of her black tee-shirt to get at the other wound, which thankfully hadn't any fragments in it.

Soon enough, the wounds were properly stitched and they were checking her vitals just to be safe.

'Yeah, you're dehydrated; here... dissolve these in a glass of water and sip at them. And take it easy.' Chemo said as she tested her feet and stood up.

'Can I shower?' she asked stretching her arms out and wincing.

'Yeah, but go easy on those stitches will you? Roach, you guys should be heading to the mess hall.'

He nodded and waited for her to walk out before following behind, holding her jacket and mask. He'd leave them in the wash later.

'You want to take a shower before or after you eat?' he asked.

'I'd like to take one now.' She sighed rolling her neck and cracking it.

'Okay... I'll show you where it is... you need clothes ... we' ll stops at the laundry room first.'

Valentine nodded and they set off.

Ghost turned on the hot water and stood in his cubicle, letting it wash over his face for five minutes before moving. He reached for a packet of shampoo he had picked up and tore it open squirting it out onto his palm and rubbing it into his brown hair.

He stopped lathering the shampoo up however; when he heard people enter the shower block.

'Yeah, they're cubicles, but ... yeah... you should be alright.'

He instantly recognised that voice.

'But what about the other person in the shower?'

Ghost smiled, 'Then the other person will leave you alone.' he called washing the shampoo off his head.

'Ghost?'

'Yeah, Valentine?' he called again. "_Valentine... I know that name from somewhere... But where?" _he thought as he heard a small laugh then a cubicle door open.  
>He listened to the water being turned on and the sigh she released as she stepped into it and felt really awkward.<p>

"_I don't know what to do in this situation... Do I make small talk? Do I stay quiet? What do I do?"_ he thought to himself as he opened a packet of body wash.

He decided to stay quiet and tried to finish showering as fast as he could.

He was half dressed when he heard Valentine turn off her water and lift her towel from the holder on the other side of the door. Ghost quickly pulled on his mask and pushed his sunglasses up his nose as she opened the door.

'Oh! Sorry, sorry, I'll just go back in here.' She squeaked when she saw his bare torso.

He laughed, 'Naw , you work ahead . I was just going to..' Ghost broke off mid-sentence , as he saw her face.

Sergeant Valentine walked over to the clothes roach had got for her and she had taken off after he left. She was glad to say the least that ghost hadn't seen her underwear for she had folded it inside her boot. Padding over to the clothes, she urged him on, 'going to what?'

'Go. I'm going to go.' Ghost replied curtly and pulled on his boots.

'Well there's no need to rush.' She said starting to get dressed under her towel, but Ghost had already started walking for the door.

Valentine left her tray by the bin station as she walked back to sit beside Roach and some of his friends. They hadn't really spoken to her, but, she hadn't made an effort to speak to them. She was wondering why Ghost was so egar to leave when he was alone with her in the shower block.

Spotting him leave the mess hall, she excused herself from the table.

'Want me to come with you?' Roach offered, but she shook her head and went after him.

She didn't get far when she bumped into her new captain who told her shepherd was waiting for her to run the pit.

'Right, okay...' she mumbled as she followed MacTavish outside. The air wasn't as frosty now, but it was still, sharp and very cold. She noticed allot of trees around the edge of the base, mainly, from what she could see were coniferous.

She spotted Shepherded up in observation on a raised platform ready and waiting.

'What do I do?' she asked Tavish, who was walking over to the ladder up to observation.

'Simple really, shoots the targets, don't shoot the civilians ... And finish under fifty seconds.'

She gulped, and grabbed her weapon of choice, a SCAR-H and a USP.40.

'Time starts when the buzzer sounds.' Tavish called to her. She looked up and noticed a smiling skull balaclava looking down at her. "_What the hell is his problem?" _ She thought glaring at Ghost unintentionally.

Shrugging it off, she ran to the start of the pit, where a mind-numbing buzz sounded.

Valentine ran, taking down three enemy targets as soon as they popped up, and ran towards a shell of a house. A further five targets popped up, only this time, a civilian target also popped up. She cussed under her breath when she just missed it, and ran into the house shooting two bullets each into two more hostile targets, then sprinting up a flight of stairs.

'MEELE WITH YOUR KNIFE!' she heard MacTavish yell as she shot it but it wouldn't go down.

Fumbling slightly she reached for her combat knife and plunged it into the metal throat.

She continued on through the course , on the upper level of the 'house' and went to shoot the last target there, only to be answered by an annoying 'click'., she yanked pout her USP and put one bullet into the targets head the jumped down, the stitches in her arm and shoulder screaming in protest.

On still the Sergeant ran, where she reached the last target. Her USP answered he with a click, so she reached for her knife and plunged it into the 'enemies' head.

Valentine sprinted for all she was worth to the finish where she stood panting for three minutes.

'Get up here Valentine.' MacTavish called to her once more and she walked almost boneless to the ladder. She climbed it and Tavish helped her up.

'You did well.' Was all Shepherds said before he turned to leave.

Valentine stood there sweating , her wounds screaming for pain-relief after just slugging her guts out doing the best she could on that course. 'What was – was my time?' she asked her captain when he sat down a timer.

'Twenty-four point three-two seconds. Very good for an FNG who is wounded. Heck, I'd even say it was brilliant.' He handed her a bottle of water which she took and smiled her thanks.

Ghost just stood there, watching.

'Gone, get some rest. Ghost –'Tavish called Ghost over. But Ghost didn't move. 'Take her to the rec room then show her her room.' He said before he too left.

Ghost looked at her for a moment, the motioned for her to follow him.

'Why the change of attitude? 'She asked him as she jogged up to his side.

He ignored her, and just led her to the rec room.

'Hey, heard you done well in the pit!' Roach exclaimed when she walked in to the large stuffy room that was full of soldiers.

'You could say that...' she turned to look for ghost but he had gone.

'Here,' Roach said throwing her a controller, 'You play videogames?'

Ghost waited until Shepherd left. He had been jogging around the base as Shepherds heli took watched as it disappeared from view , then walked slowly over to Tavishs office , thinking over and over of what he was going to say in his head.

Ghost knocked sharply on his captain's office door and waited for Tavish to tell him to come in. Sure enough a gruff Scottish accent answered within a minute 'Come in already.'

Ghost walked in and sat down. MacTavish had been doing paperwork. Ghost knew he hated paperwork, so he wouldn't mind talking.

'Ah Ghost , whats up?'

'John.. It's Valentine-'

'She's pretty darn good for a girl isn't she?' MacTavish cut across him.

'Well ... Yeah ... But ...'

'I knew it the moment I saw here. Determination behind those eyes.'

Ghost was growing impatient, 'John... I think... I think I recognise her from ... a mission...'

'Naw, I don't think you did. She's never been on a mission with us yet Ghost.'

'I know that John... Not with us... though'

MacTavish rolled his eyes 'Is someone a little jealous? You know you're still the best ruddy solider here and the best darned lieutenant I've ever seen-'

'She tried to kill me Tavish.'Ghost yelled.

MacTavish stared at Ghost.

Ghost cleared his throat and spoke, 'The mission... In Azerbaijan... When ... when we were looking for Intel ... about two years ago?'

'What about it?' MacTavish asked dryly.

'When ... when I went around the back to get the Intel... and got attacked... The name.. They radioed her.. Called out her name. She hadn't been wearing the mask...' Ghost finished sitting there still shocked.

'Then how doesn't she remember you? By your mask?' Tavish asked not knowing whether to believe this or not.

'I wasn't wearing it. You were with me. I didn't feel the need to wear it.' Ghost said his voice barely audible.

'She tried to kill you?' Tavish asked Ghost again his face serious.

**A/N : soooooooo ? What d'ya think ? sorry again if there's alot of errors... I don't have a beta :') please review or pm me with constructive criticism (yeah ... I spelled criticism right this time :L ) because I'm planning on making this longer :] Getting those reviews really spurred me on , I now know what authors feel like when they are all happy when they get reviews! 3 :D :D **

**Review please :D it makes my day :] ( and helps with my grammar too ! :'] ) **

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3 : Sweet Memories **_

**A/N : hey guys ( and gals ;D ) I have to say , I AM DELIGHTED with the faveourites ! I was like WHATTTTTTT ! NO WAYYY ! OHHH EMMM GEEEEEEEE ! for about two hours after i saw them :D :D :D Bear with me in this chapter , it might drag a little in the start , but theres an important part of the story coming up ! (like...you might get to see what happenes to Valentine and her team at the start ****HINT HINT ;D ) ****AS YOU KNOW , the reviews are making me write quicker and I'm all of a dither whenever I see them ! :] :L as always , please READ ****AND REVIEW PLEASE **** or feel free to PM me with any suggestions ;D xxxx ( I'm still beta-less , so apologies for any mistakes :L ) **

**Enjoyyyyyy ! xxxxxxx**

**Disclaimer : I don't own MW2 , If I did , I wouldn't have to write this fanfic ;D xxx Naw , but seriously though ... It is awesome ! :]**

'But I don't understand Ghost,' MacTavish sighed closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, 'Theres around 6.8 billion in the world and your telling me that our FNG tried to kill you about two years ago?'

Ghost nodded vigorously, talking with large movements of his hands 'Yes ! I sort of recognised her face at the time , but I shrugged it off , 'cause you know , it could have been just... You know .. When you see something , and you know you've seen it before , but it takes a while to click... Well , just.. Look the point is , SHE TRIED TO PUT A KNIFE IN MY THROAT !'

'AND WHAT PROOF DO YOU HAVE?' MacTavish yelled back , regretting it instantly. 'Ghost , look , I'm sorry , really , but... Too be honest ... It seems a wee bit far fetched...'

'So you're going to choose a girl that you haven't even met before and who tried to kill me over me , one of your closest friends... Hell , I'd even say your brother of a sort , 'cause you think I'm lying?'Ghost enquired not believing that Tavish thought he was talking out of jealousy.

'No , you know I wouldn't do-'

'Then why do you think I'm lying ?'

There was a moments silence.

'Ghost, your putting me in the position where I don't know what to do.'

'So you'd rather leave it and wait until she tries to murder me again?' Ghost snapped sharply back.

'No! But I would have to tell Shepherd ...' MacTavish trailed off.

'Well I'm sorry for causing a minor inconvenience , but I'm just slightly worried about the fact that she went at me with a knife before and she may as well do it again 'cause she's on our team now like so...'

'Well... I'll talk to her and Shepherd... But Ghost, you can't go making judgements... You don't know what position she was in to make her try that... You can't say you've never tried to kill anyone.' Tavish said his head in his hands. "_One bloody thing after another... All the time..." _he thought.

010101010

'OH MY GOD THAT ISNT FAIR!' Valentine roared as Roach pumped bullets into her virtual army man's head once more.

Roach laughed and leant back in the chair, 'You just can't beat me.' he smiled adding a cheeky wink as an afterthought. She respawned and within another minute of running around the complicated map , found Roaches character and fired.

'HA!'

He laughed and studied the screen. 'Well that changes the score to ... 100 you , 1200 me !'

She hand him the controller , 'Yeah , I'm bored of this now Roach... Ghost didn't show me my room , do you know where it is ?'

Roach nodded and stood up , passing the two warm controllers to two men who had been watching them play. He noticed alot of the soldiers had been watching Valentine , and he frowned slightly.

'Yeah , sure ...' he said walking out of the rec room.

10101010101010

Ghost walked to the far end of the base and kicked a large fir tree in anger. He turned around and slid down the trunk until he was sitting with his knees bent in front of him. He carefully watched as he saw three soldiers running around the perimeter of the base tirelessly...

10101010101010

Valentine had thanked Roach for showing her to her room , which had another bed in it. She was sharing a room with someone, but she didn't know who. To give her something to do , she went for a walk around the base.

Pulling a fleece tighter around her shoulders , she walked brusquely toward the coniferous forest that roach told her held the firing range. Stopping near the edge of the tree line, she spotted a figure sitting against a large fir, and so, decided to give into her curiosity and walk quietly over.

100110101010

Ghost tuned his masked head a fraction and spotted the person he least wanted to see strolling up to him. He turned his head straight forward again and focused his eyes on the runners.

'Hi 'a small voice broke the silence.

'Hello.' Ghost replied, hoping she would gather that he didn't want to talk.

'Mind if I join you?' Valentine asked meekly.

Ghost didn't reply, so she sat cross legged on the ground near him.

He found himself looking at her through his red tinted sunglasses, and mentally hit him.

She pulled at the grass that was under her waiting for him to break the silence.

When he didn't, she cleared her throat, 'Roach is a nice guy.'

'Yeah.' Was all Ghost said.

She stood up annoyed, ' Ghost ? Why are you acting like this to me? You hardly even know me , yet you're treating me as if ... as if I bloody went at you with a knife!'

'Oh really! Well how do you not know that you didn't ?' Ghost muttered quietly.

Valentines brow furrowed slightly , 'Huh ?'

But Ghost stood and looked down. He opened his mouth to say something , but no noise came out.

Valentine watched as he turned on his heel and walked back to the base. "_What the hell is eating at him!"_ she thought furiously at his attitude towards her.

She walked down to the firing range where she could take out her anger freely.

10101010101010

'Sergeant J. Valentine..' Roach called running into the rec room. Valentines head popped up instantly and she ran over to see her two duffle bags full of her possessions. Smiling she and Roach took them to her room , where she opened the door and sat hers down.

She started unpacking and putting her clothes into the small set of drawers that she had as Roach tried to help.

'Sergeant J Valentine? What's the J stand for?' he asked amusedly as Valentine finished putting her clothes into her drawers.

'Dont laugh.' She said pulling out a few books and sitting them on her shelf.

'I wont.' Roach promised and she pulled out a thin short bag and sat it on her bed. The contents hit against eachother and she winced.

'Jessica. But .. Call me Jess'

Roach looked at her, 'We're gonna have to get you a callsign anyways... Jess' He added with an amused smirk. 'Whats this?' he asked as he picked up the black bag , and opened it.

She snatched it back and closed it , sitting it on her shelf, 'None of your business.'

He frowned and opened his mouth to say something , but the door opened and Valentine rolled her eyes.

'What the hell are you doing in my room?' Ghost asked dangerously quiet.

'What the hell are you doin' in my room?' Valentine challenged , her voice wavering just slightly on the last word.

Roach looked from one to the other and stood up. 'She invited me in...' He said quietly and Ghost pointed for him to get out.

'You ... You as my roommate.. Only me .. MY luck!' Ghost muttered to himself under his breath as he circled the room clenching his fists.

'Well I'm sorry I'm not the ideal roommate Sir.'

Ghost sat on the lower bunk. 'Rules.'

She stood feeling uncomfortable and rolled up her duffle bags , then put them into her last free drawer. 'Okay.'

'No touching my stuff ever.'

She nodded 'I have no interest in anything of yours.'

'Good. You have top bunk.' He replied a little more violently than necessary .

She just looked at him flatly and he continued.

'If I ever , EVER see you near me at night I wont hesitate to use self defence.'

Valentine laughed , 'I'm sorry , what the hell are you talking about ? You think I'm gonna ... Violate you in your sleep or something ! That's just messed up !'

He didn't respond , and instead got up and stormed out , slamming the door behind him.

She stood there her eyes wide as she looked at the door. She shook it off and reached for the small bag , opening it and putting together the flute. She studied it in her hands , before bringing I near her lips and blowing softly , her fingers gracing the metal as she started playing a simple minuet.

0101010101010

'I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JOHN!' Ghost roared as he barged into his captains office.

Shepherd turned around to look at him. 'That's not how you speak to your commander is it Lieutenant Riley ?'

Ghost muttered an apology and went to walk out , but Shepherd called him back.

'You're lucky I was visiting a base nearby Riley. Captain MacTavish here is telling me that you have been making allegations against your newest team member. Is this true?'

Ghost nodded his head sharply , 'Yes Sir.' He turned to MacTavish who was leaning against the wall watching him.

'Well , what exactly did Sergeant Valentine do ?'Shepherd asked gruffly.

Ghost looked at his captain before answering , 'I believe she tried to kill me two years ago in Azerbaijan when you sent myself and my captain to retrieve Intel on the chemical Op.'

Shepherd nodded and sat in MacTavishs seat behind the desk.

'Well , you see , if Valentine were to admit to that , she would be removed from the task force , and the army , then ... Well , what would happen then wouldn't be any of my responsibility.'

Ghost was slightly confused.

'Lieutenant , I was the person who told your captain to put Valentine in with you. You two are very much alike and I'm sure if you looked over that... minor incident,' Shepherd laughed , 'You two would get along just fine .'

'But General Shepherd Sir , she tried to kill me and you've put her in the same room as me?' Ghost asked flabbergasted that the General didn't seem to care about his safety.

'Well , here's the thing Riley , I sent her and her team there.'

Ghost blinked .

'And I told them to retrieve that Intel under any circumstance. I'm sure she wouldn't have tried to defend herself if she had of known she would one day be working with you.'

'Then why did you send her and her team on the same Op as me and my captain?'Ghost asked , wanting answers.

'That's on a need to know basis , and you , lieutenant , do not need to know.'

'But-' Ghost started , however , Shepherd cut across him.

'Now , I'm glad you've wasted my time with your infantile worrying.' Shepherd said to the two men and walked out , heading for a large black car with blacked out windows.

MacTavish sighed and sat down in his chair. 'See? There is nothing wrong with Valentine.'

Ghost ran his tongue over his teeth and tutted , 'Right. Fine.'

1010101010101010101

Valentines eyes snapped open. The room was in darkness ,and she had been sleeping , so her vision was a bit fuzzy. She stretched, and sat up, shaking slightly from her flashbacks...

**** Flashback ******

She was in a dark damp room. The walls were covered in slime and, by the smell of it, urine. She crept closer to Corporal Wade as she heard screams coming from the other room. Screams of agony. Screams of pain.

'Who is that?' she asked her voice small.

'Either Wilson or Carter.' Wade replied, his voice a low whisper.

The screaming intensified as the minutes grew longer and Valentine found herself hugging Wade in terror.

Suddenly it stopped , and Wade pushed her off him 'Shhh stay over there...' he warned as the heavy metal door opened , and three large Russians walked in.

They grabbed Wade by his collar and dragged him out of the room . Valentine listened carefully against the door, catching some of their conversation.

'What are you here for?' a heavy Russian voice asked.

'I'm here for the atmosphere.' Wade replied mischievously.

A loud thud was heard.

'What are you here for?' The heavy voice repeated.

'I'm very sorry, but I can't tell you that.' She heard Wades voice again.

Another muffled thud, and a yelp of pain.

'Viktor, we try the battery with him?' a hopeful Russian voice suggested.

'Da , we will make you talk.'

Valentine clenched her teeth and shut her eyes , covering her ears and trying to mask the noise of her friend being tortured.

1010101010

A while later, the door was opened and Wade was thrown into the cell. Valentine ran over to him, as the door closed.

'There's people coming' , people comin for us.'

'Shh Shhh Shh... It's gonna be alright... We're gonna get out of here alive...'

Wade started crying 'They killed him Jess ... They killed Wilson... Cause he wouldn't talk. But don't you talk now... Stay strong ... Don't let them see you cry..'

She cradled her friend in her arms , her hands coming away bloody.

'Shhh Shhh ...Where's this blood coming from...' She asked quietly , searching for a wound on him in the faint moonlight that came through the barred hole at the top of the left hand corner.

'There's people comin' Jess... They're gonna help us...' Wade's voice cracked as she found multiple stab wounds to his side.

'S-Stay with me ... Damnit Jake , stay with me...' she said as she opened his top , uncovering more wounds on his torso.

'There's people... comin' that are gonna help us...' he repeated his eyes unfocused.

She sniffled .

'Promise me you wont cry ... Promise... I wont like it if you cry for me...' he stuttered , blood pooling around them now.

'I promise.' She repeated quietly.

'Tell... Tell...My mom that .. That ... I-I-I'

'Tell her what ? Tell her what?'

'I.. Love.. Her..'he said with one last rattling breath.

She sat hugging the body until the door opened again.

'You.. Get out here.'

She didn't move.

'I said get out here.'

When she didn't move from her dead friend , she felt rough hands grab her by the arms and pull her out of the dingy cell.

'Let GO! LET GO OF ME!' She screamed, lashing out at the large Russian male, who smirked.

She was brought into what looked like it used to be a sitting room, but was now covered in wires, maps, and blood.

She saw Carter tied up facing a chair.

'Jess! JESS! Helpp! HELP ME !' he screamed his eyes wild with fear.

Five more Russians walked in , one of them was hitting Carter in the stomach.

Valentines eyes were wide as she looked at the large Russian who pushed her down on the chair.

'Maybe you talk now when you see what we do to pretty lady .' one of the huge Russians said , self-satisfaction and excitement detectable in his voice.

'Don't you touch her!' Carter bellowed .

Valentine was shoved down onto a chair , and four Russians advanced on her. Her eyes widened even more as she realised what they were going to do to her.

'You come near me and I will bite your bloody hands off!' she spat , trying to hide the raw fear in her voice.

'Jess... Jess !' Carter called and was silenced by another blow to the stomach.

'I'm warning you , you stay the hell away from me!'

'Jess ! JESS !' Carter yelled as one of the pulled her head back by her hair.

She heard a gunshot and yelped when she saw what remained of Carters head.

'YOU LEAVE ME ALONE !' she screamed and kicked the Russian who was holding her by her hair.

'NO ! YOU TELL WHAT YOU ARE DOING HERE !'

She glared at him.

He shot her shoulder , and she screamed in pain , watching blood seep through her fleece.

'TELL NOW!' The heavy Russian screamed in her face, his own face mere centimetres away from hers.

Summoning up all of her courage , she horked up and spat in his face.

She smiled madly when he retched and cussed in Russian at her.

She took her chance and leapt off her seat , bolting for the door , and coming out into a small dimly lit kitchen.

The Russian men blocked all the other doors off , and were slowly advancing. She glanced quickly around the room. The window would have to do . She covered her face with her arms as she leapt for the thin pane of glass opposite her.

She rolled down a steep hill , her bullet wound screaming in protest.

'GET HER!' she heard a cream , and doubled up when a bullet breached the inner recesses of her arm.

She staggered to her feet , and ran as fast as she could down the hill , hearing the dogs being let out to find her.

**** END OF FLASHBACK *****

Her breathing was heavy and she felt as if she was going to throw up. She had let out a small whine and felt hot tears on her cheeks.

'What the hell are you playing a-' Ghost said but stopped when he stood up to look at her .

He didn't know what to do. 'Are... Are you alright ?' he asked looking at her carefully.

'Yes' was all she said , before scaling down the ladder , pulling on her boots and walking out , slamming the door behind her.

Ghost pulled on his own boots ,and quietly went after her.

**A/N : sooo ? o0o0o0o0o0 What do you think will happen in the next chapter o) ? Well , sorry if this chappie dragged a bit , I had to wait :L now we know what happened to her and her team at the start if the story anyway :] I'll update ASAP and please please pleaseeeee review ! It makes me so deliriously happy I cant stop myself smiling ! :D :D I literally look like this ! :D :3**

****

**Ghost 3**


	4. Chapter 4

** Note regarding hiatus**

HELLO!

So sorry I've not updated for so long , I've been crushed under school work and alot of personal things came up so I haven't had the chance to write . I haven't forgotten about this story and it has always been in the back of my mind xx

Halloween break is coming up so hopefully then I'll be able to start writing and get up a few more chapters.

Apologies for the _horrendous_ grammar and spelling in it too xx I have to admit , fist one I didn't use a spell check and the others I was ...lazy... *blushes*(sorry :')x )

I know I have a thing about emoticons , but thats just me ,so hopefully while the quality of my writing will improve , I can assure you all the quantitiy of " :D " , " :') " and " :L "'s particularly will not change.

(nope... it's a wee guilty pleasure of mine..)

SO, I hope you haven't all abandoned me and I promise you all I SHALL SEND OUT A NEW CHAPTER! :'L xxx

(And yes. Ghost rocks. I had a really really strange attraction to him until I got a new biology teacher and he sounds EXACTLY like him ... but he cycles... :$ hahahahaha )

**May the force be with you.**

**Ghost xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

Jess walked out to the firing range, the branches of the coniferous trees snagging on her hair and clothes as she realised she hadn't used the path. Drawing in another , shaky breath, she continued to walk , putting her hands up to stop the branches scratching her face. After about half an hour of walking, Valentine realised that she was no where near the firing range. When the trees cleared, Jess found herself in a field , surrounded by tall fences, topped with barbed wire , a distinct hum of electricity coming from it. Slumping down against a tree she put her head in her hands and sighed.

She had sat like that for a long time before the feeling she was being watched forced her to turn around and stand up, her hand searching for her knife that wasn't there. "Hello?" , she called out, not caring about any repercussions. After no one had answered for five minutes, Jess sat back against the tree trunk.

"Nice night for a stroll eh?"

Jess jumped and hit the dark figure. "Ghost? What the hell are you doing here? Why did you follow me?"

Ghost relaxed against the trunk and sat beside her. "I don't actually know. I guess I came to see if you were alright?" Silence. "Everyone gets them. Bad dreams like that. It's part and parcel of our job you know." He tried, his smooth voice lowering and gradually softening. Jess drew her knees up to her and shook her head. "You know, it's happened to us all. We've all lost people we loved. You get used to it." He laughed darkly, "If you aren't used to it, you shouldn't be here wench."

Jess shot a sharp glare at his masked face. "Do not call me wench." she said lowly. "I watched my best friend die today. I held one in my arms as he bled out. I listened to their screams, tasted spatters of their brain matter, was almost raped in front of one less than 36 hours ago." Her voice was monotonous now. "I ran, for my life , knowing I will never get to tell Wades mother he loved her. That kid enlisted as soon as he turned 18. Hasn't had any contact with her for ten years. His dying wish was to tell her he loved her and I was supposed to tell her. But now I can't and never will. Because I'm not like you."

Ghost shook his head. "You don't think I've had to deal with all of that?!" He stopped and lifted his mask over his chin to breathe in the cold air. He ran a hand over his stubbled chin and looked at the ground. "I shouldn't have come out after you. You're just trouble… Thats all you women ever are…" Jess snorted and stood up defensively, hissing. "Excuse me? I didn't drag you out here after me did I? You came of your own accord to check on me. Well, I can tell you this, I am more than capable of looking after myself. And trouble?" Jess crossed her arms and stepped closer to him, hunkering down so she was level with his sunglasses. "On the wrong side, yes."

Ghost sneered, "Is that a threat sergeant?" "Oh, look who is pulling rank."Jess spat and angrily began to tear through the trees. His hand on her shoulder stopped her.

She whipped around and found her face in too close a proximity to his for comfort. Her eyes faltered as they roamed around his face. "You calm the fuck down or you won't last long here at all girl." She snorted, "I've lasted this long, who says I want to keep on going?" He shook his head again and his grip loosened. "You decide that yourself. You don't listen to me so why should I give you a reason?" Jess looked down and her shoulders sagged for a moment. Silence again. With his free hand, Ghost pulled down his mask and pointed through the trees. "You want to get back to base thats the way you go. Leads you to the firing range path. You should go back to bed. You aren't allowed to roam around like this." His once again smooth voice spoke, but it sounded dead. "You aren't coming ?" Valentine asked her brows furrowing together. He didn't answer her and she glared at him, starting off in the direction he pointed. Pausing for a second, the woman turned around , searching for him, but there was no sign.

One thing Jess was certain of, Ghost was aptly named. Whether it was for how stealthily he could move, or for other reasons, he was dangerous and she would have to keep her wits about her.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait , finally have a bit of time off! Haven't given up on this and still plan to continue to update as much as possible, so hopefully I get more time in this new term coming :) Please read and review! only takes a few minutes and I would appreciate any comments a lot. Anyway, here is another chapter, hope you enjoy :) **

**~ Ghost.**

The shadows cut through the cold, frosty night air as they ghosted forward, stopping occasionally to take in their surroundings and check for movement before carrying on. Swift and silent. It wasn't long before they arrived at the frozen logging yard on the border of Russia and Azerbaijan where they were to meet up with the Russian Loyalists where they would work together to retrieve intel from a frozen base on the Ultranationalists new leader.

"_The man's a dark horse. Keeps everything to himself, trusts no one and spreads all of his orders out over a large net of accomplices. You miss one piece of information and nothing fits , thats why it's vital you retrieve that intel before it's either destroyed or he changes it again."_

The snow was falling thick and fast, covering their footprints to some degree, but there were still visible outlines if one were to look closely.

"_Get in, get out and don't be seen."_

They hid themselves amongst logs, careful not to disturb the snow that lay on top of them. The comms crackled. "Hostile patrol headed your way, Loyalists have dug in, suggest you do the same." Valentine looked at MacTavish who was hidden in a hollow of a large log."Stay where you are." His gruff voice broke through the comms.

What seemed like a lifetime passed, her heart thrumming painfully loud in her ears and her bullet wounds still stinging horribly. She shouldn't have been out on a mission that soon, the whole squad knew it. She hadn't even been given a callsign, so her last name was used instead. Everything about this op seemed dodgy to her.

Footsteps. Voices. A lot of voices. Vibrations travelled up through the ground she lay on under cover of a pine propped horizontally on two piles of logs. Her eyes widened and she glanced at the location she knew Ghost was hiding. She couldn't see him. Her frantic eyes searched for Roach. He was equally as well hidden. Looking for some sign of reassurance that she had hid herself well enough , Jess looked in the direction of her new captain who was a few metres away, in line with her.. He too was well hidden from view.

Valentine's heart raced faster and she felt her hands tremble as a twenty plus patrol strolled through the logs and a truck rolled along behind. The woman found herself having to bite her lip in order to prevent herself from breathing too loudly in fear of being found out. The vibrations increased and suddenly stopped. "Don't. Move." Valentine's comms quietly crackled, "BTR up ahead , four men. It's stopped, but we're in it's tight, see if it moves on." The scottish voice crackled and provided a second of reassurance. They lay, for a further ten minutes, the cold numbing everything from Jess's face to her gloved fingers.

"BTR is on the move." Roach's quiet whisper crackled. "Shit. Mac, Valentine, it's coming your way." MacTavish's voice quietly came over her comms, "We're going to have to run for it. Tree line to the north east Valentine ,Ghost, Roach you work backwards and into the cover of the south woods. Meet in 10 a klick to the west of our current position, under the stone bridge. Valentine, on my mark. The rest of you stay hidden." The heavy vehicle rumbled closer, soldiers mere feet away from where she and her captain were hiding. "Now!" He barked and Jess fumbled, hitting her wounded shoulder on a branch on her way up. It felt hot, she tore her stitches. Racing after her captain they drew the fire of the BTR and the men before four bullets silenced their hectic shouts.

Panting and her blood coursing through her veins and out of her shoulder wound, she slowed down once they were in the cover of trees. "No good.. they know we're here now…" MacTavish said, crouching behind a tree and looking back at the speck which was the BTR they had evaded. "What're we going to do now then?" Valentine asked, her voice shakier than she would have liked. "Ghost and Roach are back there-" MacTavish cut her off, "They'll be fine, Roach hates the cold but he'll live. As for us we better get going. They'll be after us , not them. Come on lass, no dillydallying." He turned to her, and nodded in the direction of her shoulder. "Holding up?" "Don't think so. Fine for now though." She said and they started walking quickly in a westwardly direction.

….

When they met up with Roach and Ghost, the base had been put on high alert. Not only had their cover been blown, the Loyalists too were found by the large foot patrol that passed them. With the amount of guards patrolling the base and the surrounding area with orders to shoot on sight, Shepherd had ordered them to meet in a small town 15 miles to the south. They wouldn't be getting home any time soon.

Roach groaned, "40 miles, in this? This!?" he asked in an annoyed whisper. "Sooner we set off, sooner we leave." Ghost said coldly and Valentine was sure it had nothing to do with the weather. "We have a safehouse to go to, we won't freeze. Suck it up Roach." Ghost warned, "Come on."

The walk lasted what seemed like forever to Valentine and her shoulder throbbed painfully. Ignoring the need to pee, she tried to alleviate the stress on her bleeding wound to no joy. Everyone was silent as they carved their way through deepening snow for about three hours until Roach deemed he had waited long enough before talking again. "Well, Ghost, this is the last time I let you take me out. What happened to your promises to wine and dine me?" Ghost shook his head and looked at him through his sunglasses. "We can do that back home if Valentine doesn't mind giving me the room and you don't mind no wine or food." He said darkly, in what she suspected was supposed to be a joke. "Actually, honey, I'm waitin' 'till marriage." Roach replied cockily with a grin. "Well fuck you too." Was all Ghost came up with and walked forward, keeping his eyes in front of him and not turning to the rowdy soldier. Unsatisfied with his response, Roach proceeded to bend down and grab a discrete handful of snow, fashioning it into a round ball and throwing it at the British soldiers bum. Ghost swore and kept walking, ignoring him. Valentine looked at MacTavish , who was treating it as a regular occurrence and she realised that Roach fancied himself as the joker of the group.

The walk continued, with Roach keeping up a near constant chatter until they were in the view of a small village. "Thank goodness… I was beginning to go mad." Valentine said under her breath to MacTavish who merely nodded in agreement.

When they arrived at the safehouse and entered using the back door, they were the only one there. The Loyalists hadn't reached them yet. "Let's eat, warm up and tend to that shoulder. Roach, be a dear and take watch." MacTavish ordered gruffly as always. They set out some MRE's and Ghost was ordered to help Jess with her shoulder as MacTavish began planning a new extraction point.

Silently, Ghost motioned for her to sit on a table as he unrolled the first aid kit and helped her out of her various belts , fleeces, coat and her shirt. The wound was oozing blood, but not at a significant amount now. He began to clean it and pushed his sunglasses up onto his masked head so he could quickly stitch the wound. Valentine looked at the secretive man's cold, emotionless blue eyes for longer than she meant to and Ghost moved his gaze to meet hers. Even though they were looking eye to eye, he seemed to look past her, his eyes glassy, as though he were dead…as if he was a ghost. Valentine looked at her shoulder, uneasy from his dead glare and saw he had finished stitching a neat row along the length of the bullet hole. After a moment of stillness, he moved back to the open medi kit, grabbing some more items. He began wrapping gauze and bandaging Jess's shoulder when she let her curious eyes flicker over to his. "There." He said and looked back at her, his brows furrowing as she moved away at the sight of his dilated, dark pupils which threatened to suck her in and hold her unless she broke away now.

Valentine cleared her throat. "Th-thanks.." she said as he helped her back into her clothes again. Ghost walked over to an MRE, opened it and lifted his mask to eat, his sunglasses in their normal position again. Intimidated, Valentine refrained from eating near him and cautiously collected her MRE before eating facing a window in the opposite corner of the room. The tasteless, bland food was welcome to her growling stomach as much as she didnt like it and Valentine excused herself to use the bathroom. Not finding one downstairs, she quietly scaled the stairs and checked two rooms before she found it. It was small, clean and the door locked. Going about her business, she shook away unwelcome thoughts of the man who stared so threateningly at her minutes before. Jess finished up in the bathroom and after drying her hands, pulled her gloves back on and opened the door.

She heard a scuffle and suppressed a yelp of pain that caught in her throat as a dark object moved to hit her in the face.

"Ambush!" She heard Roach's american accent roaring before chaos ensued. Falling back, she crashed into the mirror and sent shards of glass flying. Valentine heard shouts and shots soon after as a boot stamped on her face, a sickening crunch coming from her jaw. Moaning in pain as a foot prevented her arm from moving she saw a heavy man looming over her in a uniform similar to the guards they had previously encountered. Acting instinctively , Valentine reached for the knife in it's sheath on her leg with her free hand before lasing it across the mans leg which had her arm pinned down and pushed herself up onto her shoulders before locking her legs around his neck and pulling him down onto the ground with a loud grunt of exertion. He fell onto her and she cut her cheek on the glass as she turned her head to avoid a punch. Jess tried to maneuver herself on top of him but the large man anticipated it and twisted her arm up , her elbow facing him as the lay on the ground side by side locked in a fight. He yelled and she heard footsteps running for the stairs as MacTavish roared for her to come down through her comms.

Looking at her elbow she put all her force into slamming it into the man's face, his grip releasing again , giving her a chance to pick up her knife and plunge it into his throat before taking his gun and sharply turning around to see two more guards appearing at the top of the stairs. Firing two quick bursts, Valentine turned and grabbed her own M4A1 before running back for the stairs to see MacTavish, Ghost and Roach standing at the door. "C'mon, extraction site… ETA 5 minutes." MacTavish roared as they fired more spurts into the bodies of soldiers that presented themselves "Ghost, get us a ride."

Quickly making their way outside to the cover of a jeep, Ghost broke the passenger window with the butt of his gun before opening the door and dove in , under the steering wheel as Valentine, Roach and MacTavish continued a spray of carefully placed bullets. The engine roared to life and the three of them piled into the car, Ghost accelerating downhill. "Snow mobiles ,take 'em out." MacTavish ordered. Aiming down her ACOG sights. Jess fired shots at pursuing now mobiles, their riders losing control and crashing. The familiar lull of a Chinook became increasingly audible as they skidded along the icy roads, fending off attackers.

Reaching an open field , Ghost turned the Jeep sharply so it skidded to a halt , a shower of snow kicked up along with The Chinook landed and its loading ramp began opening. When the gap was wide enough, the squad climbed in and the blades began spinning faster. Sparks and the chinks of bullets increased until they were off the ground. Sitting down against the wall , the ramp fully closed and Jess became aware of the sting of her cheek which was bleeding. "Roach, Valentine get cleaned up. Ghost." MacTavish said before walking to the far end. Roach's arm had been grazed by a bullet and the skin around it was burnt. Valentine watched as the two men sat in silence , Ghost quickly patching Roach up. He wasn't talking, perhaps he was in pain or, perhaps Ghost done that to everyone.

When he was done, he turned to Jess and pointed to the floor beside Roach. "I don't bite" Ghost said plainly as she grumbled and got to her feet. He cleaned and stitched her cheek closed. "What happened to 'I can take care of myself?'" Ghost asked, his voice low and dangerous. "I didn't say I was invincible." Valentine replied , ignoring the throb of her cheek, jaw and shoulder. He sighed and finished tending to her new wound. She could feel her jaw swelling and knew it would be badly bruised in a few hours, so until the pain started to annoy her, she wrapped her arms around her knees, pulled up her hood and decided to try to sleep.

Those dead eyes stared back at her in her mind, warning her off and lacing her thoughts with threats until she succumbed to exhaustion.


End file.
